Four big by-elections for the Lib Dems tonight. I'll post the results as they come in. The first hurdle has been cleared with a successful defence in Newport. Carmel Townsend held the seat which her husband Ed had represented until he sadly passed away in May. In 2012, he held it by just one vote. Liberal Democrat HOLD St Julians (Newport). — Britain Elects (@britainelects) July 28, 2016 I did a minuscule bit of phoning tonight and I felt that our vote was turning itself out, but you never really know. We've had loads of Lib Dem heartbreak in Wales ...
Captain Chris Booker planned the visit of the three Cunnard Queens to the River Mersey last year and was himself on board and in charge of the Queen Mary as it turned off Crosby on its way to berth at Pier Head. Chris is Chairman of the Liverpool Pilotage Service and I and other Mayors from across the region gathered in Liverpool last week to recognise the important role played by the pilots. For 250 years the ships entering the River Mersey have had the benefit of a pilot to guide them into harbour. Their professionalism is central to the ...
It's always a good day when you find a new archive recording of the Spencer Davis Group on Youtube. This one (it is not dated) comes from French television and contains three songs: My BabyGeorgia On My MindMean Woman Blues
Conservative seat. Cause: Resignation. Candidates – Maggie Vale.
UPDATED DETAILS. LD seat. Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Chris Williams. To help, please contact Dan Houghton (07816 013919, daninbrockley@gmail.com)
Conservative seat.Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Adrian Key
Conservative seat.Cause: Resignation. LD candidate- Adrian Key
Labour seat. Cause: Resignation. LD Candidate: Karen Alexander
UPDATED DETAILS LD seat. Cause: Death. LD candidate- Carmel Townsend. To help, please contact Veronica German (07980 655995, veronicagerman@btinternet.com)
Lord Bonkers begins to give his account of a notorious evening. Ryan Coetzee's barbecue at the Hall 1 Looking back on the affair, I should have entered a firm nolle prosequi when Freddie and Fiona telephoned me proposing a barbecue at the Hall as a thank you to everyone who worked on the side of the angels in the recent unpleasantness. However, I dithered and, sensing weakness, they put Ryan Coetzee on the line. I suggested various alternative ways of raising the morale of the troops, such as a party at the Smithson & Greaves Brewery, but he was adamant: ...
A follow-up to my post about the Liberal Democrat council by-election victory in Totnes.
Last November I blogged about David Mackintosh, the Conservative MP for Northampton South. That post quoted a BBC News report: A Conservative MP's local party was given undeclared payments linked to a businessman involved in a stalled stadium development, it has emerged. David Mackintosh's party received a £6,195 payment for tickets from Howard Grossman, the director of a company overseeing work at Northampton Town FC. Mr Mackintosh was leader of the borough council when it approved a £10.25m loan for the plans. Millions of pounds of the money is currently unaccounted for. He declined to comment on the payments. Three ...
The Formby Festival was a great success. I was invited by the Parish Council to help judge the school choir competition. It was a very difficult task. I was delighted to see that there was a panel of judges. It soon became clear that we had all focussed in on two choirs: Freshfields and Our Lady's. The organisers took away our score sheets to tot them up. It seemed to take a long time and reason became clear when they emerged from their tent. Marking separately the judges had independently scored the two top choir with identical marks. Congratulations to ...
As the holiday season starts, councillors get an email out of the blue telling us that there is a Special Council Meeting on September 14th, the only subject matter being Teaching Assistants. I don't know when we'll hear any more, but I know which side I'm on: [IMG: Owen with Captain TA for mycouncillor] [IMG: Owen with TAs]
Tales from the Secret Annexe, by Anne Frank Second paragraph of third story ("Eve's Dream"): "Same to you, Mum." Quite a short book of the brief stories written by Anne Frank while in hiding, bulked out a little by prose set-pieces from her diary. To be honest they are more interesting as further enlightenment about the state of mind of the writer than as literature in themselves; not very surprisingly, the themes of being enclosed or trapped, and parental and family relations, recur in most of the pieces. Still, I doubt if my own scribblings at the age of fourteen ...
[IMG: Trauma and celebration in World War II] Trauma and celebration in World War II The psychoanalyst Vamik Volkan talks of "chosen traumas" and "chosen glories", as stories from the past get retold and shape collective identity. The trouble is that how the events are remembered changes. The stories seem to be about the past, but also have a present-day purpose. At the celebrations of the bicentenary of the French Revolution, Margaret Thatcher pointed out that we had had a revolution a century earlier: she was quoting history, but also making a point about how she understood Anglo-French relations now. ...
Well, sort of... I am probably now a full-time freelance writer. I gave in my notice a week or so ago, and while work haven't yet accepted it (they're still trying to persuade me to stay on in a reduced ... Continue reading →
Second paragraph of third story ("Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your crisis", by Kate Wilhelm): They were in the mountains. That was good. Lotte liked it when they chose mountains. A stocky man was sliding down a slope, feet out before him, legs stiff - too conscious of the camera, though. Lotte couldn't tell if he had meant to slide, but he did not look happy. She turned her attention to the others. This is an anthology of stories and writers which supposedly straddle the boundary between mainstream fiction and sf. I confess that I didn't really see the point ...
The Lib Dems will be gathering in September in Brighton for a party conference that should be absolutely sizzling. Cometh the hour, cometh…
Thu 28th
15:30
LibLink: Alistair Carmichael: May's legacy on immigration detention is callous and cold
Alistair Carmichael has written an article for the Times Red Box website in which he slams Theresa May's record on immigration detention: May's legacy on immigration detention is callous and cold writes @acarmichaelmp https://t.co/x3WCyO4ck9 pic.twitter.com/AvnWHPpoMR — Red Box (@timesredbox) July 28, 2016 32,000 people is half the population of my home town. He explains why immigration detention is so bad: These people are not criminals and there is no judge or jury. Refugees, asylum seekers and migrants can be held in immigration detention centres for days, weeks or months while they await a decision. We are the only country in ...
On 27th August, LDV will be 10 years old. In that time, we've brought you over 24,000 posts and published over 337,000 comments. Over the Summer holidays, we'll take you on a nostalgic meander through a decade of Liberal Democrat history, seen through the eyes of our editors and contributors. We hope you enjoy our choices. LDV burst on to the scene on 27th August 2006 with a bold prediction about the forthcoming Party Presidential election. Incumbent Simon Hughes was "certain to be challenged." Word reaches the Voice that weeks before the position had been advertised in Lib Dem News, ...
A resident of Swale Avenue in Gunthorpe has has asked about the idea of widening the Hallfields Lane/Paston Ridings junction, or if it is possible to introduce junction mirrors, as it's considered to be a trouble spot for traffic. View the location on Google Maps! The junction is certainly a bit of a tester, but, [...]
Thu 28th
13:07
Axing two oak trees to improve views of Ludlow from Whitcliffe Common is the unacceptable face of en...
There is a row going on between those who favour felling healthy oak trees on Whitcliffe Common and others, including myself, who find the idea of taking a chainsaw to trees just to improve the view abhorrent. Last night, Ludlow Town Council voted to object to the proposals to fell two oak trees on Whitcliffe... Continue reading Axing two oak trees to improve views of Ludlow from Whitcliffe Common is the unacceptable face of environmentalism →
It might well be that the United Kingdom, or its successor rump state of England and Wales, will be relying on the skills of the New Zealand's trade negotiators to help shape the Brexit agreement with the EU. Amusingly, these might be the same people who are also representing New Zealand and Australia in areas where those two countries collaborate to reach common terms with the post-EU British / English-Welsh state. That's a mouthful of a paragraph because it's a mind-blowing idea, or should be. But it would unlikely to have become reality had it been thought about before the ...
In Conversation with my old chum Charles (Uncle Albert) Walker (a young 95) the other day he was talking about the time he lived in Bootle on Park Lane and he happened to mention the fact that Ford Station closed almost exactly when he moved to within spitting distance of it from his former Wallasey home. I have mentioned this Station before and my posting of 21st may 2015 refers – see link below:- In fact as my previous posting noted Ford Station closed in April 1951 and Charles moved into Park Lane in late 1950. This started me ...
[IMG: CoJUcy4XEAA9i-v.jpg large] Now you know the answer to the question what do the Liberal Democrats stand for.
In Gateshead we have seen other local parties hosting Lib Dem Pint events so we decided to hold one ourselves last night. The Tilley Stone on Jackson Street in the town centre was chosen as the venue and emails went out last week to invite members to come along. Good result! We are likely to hold more in the future. Good to see members who have joined recently coming along.
So says Owen Bennett of HuffPost Politics: On June 23, the UK was divided into three groups: Leavers, Remainers and non-voters. Now, we are all in one group: Waiters. We are all waiting to see what the three Brexiteers – Liam Fox, David Davis and Boris Johnson – do next. We are all waiting to see if the UK gets access to the Single Market. We are all waiting to see if freedom of movement into the UK is scrapped. We are all waiting to see if those trade deals we were promised will materialise. But one person is not ...
I think it is fair to say that Twitter is not the best medium on which to have an internal discussion about party strategy. We should be grateful therefore when politicians ignore this rule and give us an insight into the dynamics of their party group. In this particular instance the source of the disagreement is the decision by Plaid Cymru leader, Leanne Wood to set herself against Carwyn Jones in the vote for First Minister, rather than seek a formal coalition with Labour. According to the BBC, Dafydd Elis Thomas, who is a former Plaid Cymru leader, has criticised ...
In 2013, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after a long-lasting period of depression; a few weeks ago, I was discharged as an out-patient after spending several weeks under a mental health home treatment team, having suffered a manic episode crammed with delusions, little sleep and a somewhat adamant neglect of both food and hygiene (I lost weight and I'm still in desperate need of a barber due to a matted dreadlock that has formed from the absence of a comb during this period). Though the illness isn't entirely life-consuming - one can lead a perfectly normal, fulfilled and enjoyable ...
I often rail against nostalgia. I think it claims too much space on the Left and the far-right (this is one of the reasons the centre-right are in power) and stops new ideas from coming forward. But none of us are immune to its charms. Something reminded me of the 43rd American president yesterday – I can't recall what exactly. So I had a sudden overwhelmingly strong desire to watch one of the numerous montages of George W Bush saying incredibly stupid things, a desire I acted upon. I rediscovered my favourite quote, one I'd forgotten all about: "Our enemies ...
This is the week of unusually scheduled by-elections and both of them have been good for the Lib Dems. On Tuesday, the party almost pulled off a sensational gain from the Tories. Their 9 vote deficit puts them in a very good position for next time. Last night, John Birch gained a seat from Labour, this time, in Totnes in Devon. Labour didn't defend the seat, but there was an independent candidate. Totnes (South Hams) result: LDEM: 44.2% (+22.6) GRN: 27.1% (-14.4) IND: 21.3% (+21.3) CON: 7.4% (-9.9) Labour didn't stand. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) July 27, 2016 This is ...
From the Community Companion Scheme - you can also read more here : In Dundee, as in many other parts of the UK, the responses to tackling social isolation and loneliness vary. Dundee has services that match older persons with companions, community centres that have age related groups and activities, one to one social support to handyman schemes, volunteering and home visitors. Befriending is an area of activity that users have stated makes a difference to their quality of life and it's the area of work that the Reshaping Care Team has focused on through the social isolation collaborative. This ...
I've often commented about internal (lack of) communication in the Liberal Democrats, so here is another practical example of what could be done.
In an unusually timed by-election, the Lib Dems have taken a seat off Labour in Totnes.
Why Trump Fails—and Clinton Passes—the Commander-in-Chief Test A former top spook speaks. (tags: uspolitics )
So before the political singularity happened, I was slowly reviewing this year's Hugo nominations. For those who weren't following my blog then and don't know, this year, like last year, a group of fascists (and no, I'm not going to ... Continue reading →
